California Grand Finale: Santa Cruz & The Golden Gate Triumph!
Jared Worth | 25. November 2025
After the long, multi-hour haul from Los Angeles, our riders finally arrived in beautiful Santa Cruz, ready to kick off the final day of customer visits on their leg of the tour! Thankfully, the two remaining customers were located just minutes apart from each other. Even better, an igus colleague from the area, Zach Sanchez, stopped by to join Chris and Philip and wish them well on the closing days of their big adventure!
The first visit was with Praxis Works, a bicycle component manufacturer that specializes in drivetrain parts. Though they do many things well, it’s their awesome Brodium pedals that utilize igus bushings for smooth, reliable movement.
This stop was unique because it was the only one in the entire Western U.S. leg that had a third igus employee present! Praxis is part of Zach Sanchez’s sales territory, so he made the trip not only to visit with the customer and strengthen that relationship, but also to cheer on his fellow igus adventurers as they approached the end of their time on tour. Teamwork makes the dream work!
After the Praxis visit, only a few short minutes of driving stood between the team and their next stop: mountain bike manufacturer ibis Cycles.
CEO Hans Heim generously took the time to meet with Chris and Philip, along with five members of ibis’ distribution network who just happened to be visiting all the way from Switzerland! Once again, the igus:bike stole the show, wowing everyone with its truly unique look and its customer-oriented design philosophy. A great way to end the official visits!
No trip to Santa Cruz is truly complete without a stop at the famous Santa Cruz Beach, which is exactly where our riders headed next!
The cloudless sky and warm weather made for a perfect day of biking along the boardwalk — our riders even caught a seal sunning itself near Seal Rock! While they were visiting the nearby Lighthouse Point, a father and son on their own bikes stopped to chat with Chris and Philip and ask all about the igus:bike. They each took the bike for a brief ride, and, in a moment of pure fun, even rode it together! While it definitely isn’t designed as a tandem bike, the plastic powerhouse still stood up to the challenge.
Chris and Philip wrapped up their incredibly busy day with one last cruise along the beach before packing up and turning in for the night and setting out the following morning for the final destination on their leg of the tour: San Francisco, California!
After a quick drive north, our riders reached the iconic city and set out to put their final miles on the bike. They made their way up through the city’s famous hills, drawing the attention of curious onlookers as always. Finally, they reached the spectacular Golden Gate Bridge, where their portion of the tour officially came to a triumphant close. It was a bittersweet moment — Chris and Philip didn’t want the adventure to end, but they couldn’t help but feel incredibly proud of how the tour went and excited to see what the second half of the U.S. tour had in store for the igus:bike!
Chris Sandven has been with igus® nearly nine years as a Territory Sales Manager for Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming. He started as the Bike Industry Specialist in 2024, and as an avid sports fan and outdoor enthusiast, the opportunity to join the igus:bike tour was too good for him to pass up.
Philip Pauli started with igus® in 2022 in International Sales for iglide® bearings, and by September of 2024 had become the bike industry manager at our headquarters in Germany. He loves the outdoors, whether it’s hiking, climbing, or mountain biking, and knew he couldn’t miss out on the igus:bike tour.
